Genomic diversity and the domestication history of cotton ( <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> )

W Weixuan Ning (Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University) M Mark A. Arick (Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University) J Joshua A. Udall (Crop Germplasm Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service) C Chuan-Yu Hsu (Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University) L Luis Abdala-Roberts (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida) U Uriel Solís-Rodríguez (Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán) Y Yeyson Briones-May (Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán) Z Zenaida V. Magbanua (Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University) O Olga Pechanova (Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University) C Carlos Bustos-Segura (Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel) M Mary V. Clancy (Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel) S Sandra Díaz-Cruz (Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán) A Alejandra Garnica-Cabrera (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida) M Marine Mamin (Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel) J John Z. Yu (Crop Germplasm Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service) T Ted C. J. Turlings (Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel) G Guanjing Hu (National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) D Daniel G. Peterson (Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University) C Corrinne E. Grover (Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University) J Jonathan F. Wendel (Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University)

Abstract

Gossypium hirsutum is the leading fiber crop globally, but its origin as a domesticated plant and patterns of diversity in the wild remain to be elucidated. Here, we use extensive sampling of wild populations and comparative genome sequence data to illuminate the scope and patterning of wild cotton diversity across its native range. Analyses confirm the hypothesis that the Yucatán Peninsula (México) is the center of domestication, from which the original perennial forms and later modern annualized cultivars were derived. Population structure and phylogenomic analyses indicate that northwestern Yucatán harbors greater genetic diversity relative to smaller, geographically dispersed populations in northeastern Yucatán and the Caribbean basin. Genetic load and transposable element burden also are the lowest in northwestern Yucatán relative to other regions, consistent with its greater diversity and reflecting the effects of historical genetic bottlenecks in other populations. Populations from Florida and elsewhere in the Caribbean basin maintain unique pockets of diversity. Analyses of selection suggest that cotton domestication entailed long-term accumulation of mutations with relatively minor phenotypic effects, as opposed to a more punctuated process involving major domestication genes. Our study quantifies the scope and scale of genomic diversity in wild cotton, the origin of the cultivated gene pool, and the likely ecological and anthropogenic processes that shaped extant diversity and modern geographic patterning.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 123, Issue 21
Published May 26, 2026
ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher National Academy of Sciences

Authors (20)

W

Weixuan Ning

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University

M

Mark A. Arick

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University

J

Joshua A. Udall

Crop Germplasm Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service

C

Chuan-Yu Hsu

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University

L

Luis Abdala-Roberts

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida

U

Uriel Solís-Rodríguez

Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán

Y

Yeyson Briones-May

Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán

Z

Zenaida V. Magbanua

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University

O

Olga Pechanova

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University

C

Carlos Bustos-Segura

Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel

M

Mary V. Clancy

Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel

S

Sandra Díaz-Cruz

Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán

A

Alejandra Garnica-Cabrera

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida

M

Marine Mamin

Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel

J

John Z. Yu

Crop Germplasm Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service

T

Ted C. J. Turlings

Institute of Biology, Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, University of Neuchâtel

G

Guanjing Hu

National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

D

Daniel G. Peterson

Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University

C

Corrinne E. Grover

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University

J

Jonathan F. Wendel

Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University